Starting the countdown for surgery

Today I am T- minus 10 days until my para esophageal surgery! i have been struggling for so long, i am hoping to make it all the way through the week without an episode!

So frustrating for me, my work staff and students!(not to mention the sick days flying away like nothing) We get the whole week off for Thanksgiving,so my herniated stomach can be as sick as it wants during the week because surgery is that Friday!(BLACK FRIDAY LOL)

I seem to be good for three to four days, then bam, even water may not go down, anything I have eaten must come back up for relief. I have lost 25 lbs since Sept, because not much stays down and I've eliminated quite a bit of dairy and other things as needed.

i am very glad to have found you all here, its always great to be informed and educated to what to expect. from what im reading , i will need to continue doing a lot of the same trial and error i have been doing, except with liquids and soft foods.

 Something that has really worked for me(and i hope will continue) is HORCHATA ,the rice cinnamon drink, helps when i'm hungry and afraid to eat anything, i take a few swallows of that and feel better. I hope this is something i can drink post surgery:)

 i am a little leery of the smooth move tea people talk about because of the peppermint,that has been something i avoid! So i may have to use miralax or something for constipation,NOT LOOKING FWD TO THE BARIUM SWALLOW after surgery, that chalk is HORRIBLE to drink,and triple horrible making its way out!

I intend on taking my pain meds religiously,I don't want to feel any pain.I am nervous about throwing up after surgery, its has been my only (even tho negative and painful) relief when things don't go down or get stuck.

I know that is a no no because of the wrap, has anyone experienced post surgery throwing up? what do you do? I do not want to damage the work the doctors will do, nor do i want to go through the process again!

Thank you for listening to me i look forward to hearing from you, and logging my journey here on this wonderful forum:) have a great day, its only Monday once a week thank goodness!  

 

edited with breaks for easier reading... 

Post Edited By Moderator (dencha) : 11/18/2013 8:05:50 PM (GMT-7)

Yes, I believe I will be doing a full one no talk of partial one. Keep your head up this week, I'm sure u will do fine. I'm a little freaked out that they want me to fill out a end of life contract that needs to be notorized! Hell no do not DNR ME! I know why we must fill one out( my father did not have his and we fought with the ICU doctor and social worker about his wishes, man they want them to just die, he was in ICU two weeks, the doctor was so eager to get him out, even told him" I can give you tracheotomy, or just give you drugs to sedate you until you pass on" JERK! I am surprised no one has gone into the ICU with a gun and gone postal on the high up doctors who are connected at a corporate level ! I swear they must get commission on how many people they can easily DNR! My dad did pass a few months later:( at a nursing facility, so we got a little more time with him, so rant over, I will be filling this out by next week. ) I hope the move went well and you can! relax until Thursday !

Ask your surgeon for an anti-nausea drug. I was very, very nauseous one night and it was difficult to not vomit. I have Zofran, which melts in the mouth and took it. It helped, but while waiting for it, I tried to do some slow deep breathing. The vomiting is certainly a worry for most of us. But, some folks on this forum have vomited and had no damage to their wrap that required repair, just time to heal, again.

I did not have a barium swallow at all - before or after surgery. All surgeons are different - especially when it comes to dietary restrictions following the surgery.

We'll be here to support you when you are finished!

Congrats on the baby... hope everything goes well!

I am having a partial because I told him I wanted a partial, basically! I do have motility issues and my surgeon offered the same - "floppy" nissan or toupet and I didn't like the idea of wrapping the whole thing as much as partial. It was mostly my choice. I spent years "choking" on everything I ate and will need physical therapy for the muscles in my esophagus after surgery.... I think that was most of the deciding factor.

Also, I work in a medical setting and have a slight fascination with how things are done so I watched a bunch of videos on the surgery on youtube - if you have the stomach for it, go watch them. It is pretty interesting to see how they repair a hernia and cut/stitch the wrap. I tried to show my boyfriend, mom, coworkers, pretty much anyone I could find and most people won't watch them but its really interesting if you are up to it.

I go in on Thursday and plan to have my laptop and phone in the room with me after so I will be able to update when I am feeling awake enough.

Sorry... this thread isn't about me I have my own titled "Elle Jay" where I will post my updates.

Thanks for the info:) I'm just trying to ready myself for what is to come:) and throwing up is the only relief I get now,and have to deal with the pain after, just not sure how that works post surgery, hopefuls I won't be nauseated! And the anti nausea meds make u very constipated, I am hoping miralax will help with all the med constipation issues, I don't want to be in pain. I've been reading a lot on here and, I believe I won't know until it is my turn to go through it, but I am very thankful for the support and understanding from this forums members. I do have another question, my surgery is supposed to be Lasproscopic with the possibility of open surgery:( has anyone experienced that kind of recovery? I'm sure it has to be more intense , I'm hoping they can take care of it Laysproscopicly! The thought of healing from open abdominal surgery scares the hell out of me! Have a great day everyone and take care!

My HH was big. I had 5 incisions in the belly. 2 are still sore. My surgery was 1 hour but I stayed 23 hours outpatient. You are right about the anti nausea meds causing constipation. Ever since I had to use all of those nausea meds my system is not regulated. I think you said you had a paraesophageal hernia. It is good you are getting that fixed.

I don't know about flying since I travel by car for my job. Hopefully, someone can answer that question.

FC

it is good to know if the hernia is big they still can do it lap! im hoping i will have the same! my herina has been there for quite a while so im thinking its had lots of time to inch up and up @ Bill what was easier for you with open surgery? and if you don't mind me asking why have you had to have them redone? feeling nervous for the surgery to come and my hospital stay(i hate having to stay, and if its open surgery that promises even more days in the hospital!! grrr!) take care and have a great day

I think you will do just fine! I am thinking of you. :)

Hi anny Jolie - please don't freak out! You might want to read my replies to Mcedge on her 13 days after fundoplication within the forum.

So I am 5 weeks post op after both a para hiatus fix and a nissens fundoplication. I had 5 laparoscopic incisions to fix and in the end had a 270 wrap, due to the size of my hiatus.

The barium swallow post op was not the chalky drink for me but a different more gentle liquid that did the same trick so no horrible coloured bowel movements after wards, but mainly watery diarrhoea for 24 hours post which is usual.

Please please follow the instructions that the dietician and surgeon give you re diet - I can't believe the speed at which some are told to go onto a soft diet - my surgeon has been insistent about how I progress through and I do believe that has been the success to my recovery.

So post op - not one sign of reflux, no sickness whatsoever, am not able to vomit, but I can burp.

Good luck and a happy thanksgiving to all members across the pond.

I also had that major anxiety the few days before surgery. It's hard to imagine what it will be like when you get home. Reading all the journals does help. Reiki is good, I'm a Reiki therapist. Benadryl and Clonazapam worked better for me.

Sorry about your long flight experience!! yuk, and with the recent surgery, thats a long flight!! i only want to go for a 2 hour flight up to oregon from Cali:) I hope i am doing well enough to be able to handle it, we'll see, my surgery is tmw! I have been anxiety riddled the last few days with all of the posts i have been obsessivley reading as to what " could" happen during recovery, but i have to stop and breathe and realize each of ours is different and i just have to see what mine brings about, hopefully not alot of nightmares,a bit of smoothe sailing would be welcomed for sure!! im mostly concerned about the pain meds,anti nausea meds and constipation issues they bring! Im not supposed to strain at all the surgeon said. I bought the smoothe move tea, but i think that has peppermint and thats not good for my tummy , maybe post op it can handle it? i am leery of anything i have had issues with before. whats your all's take on warding off constipation from anesthesia and all the meds(i will be taking mine, not tring to get off them soon as possible, i want to stay on top of the pain and avoid it at all costs.) i am going to follow the liquid diet for as long as i am instructed, dont want to have things stuck, not looking fwd to those experiences if they happen! i have to get some liquid protien from the health food store , hopefully that will keep me satiated and not feeling too weak from just liquids. thank you for reading this and being as support group along with my friends and family during this process, its so reassuring:) So lets just get this process started and get my stomach down back where it belongs!! I didnt give it permission to be renting a room in my upstairs organs anyway!!! sheesh!! :)

Post Edited (annyjolie) : 11/28/2013 3:24:10 PM (GMT-7)

4 hours of surgery, I've slept almost all day, I feel relief already that my stomach is back where it belongs, and not shoved up my diaphragm! Feeling groggy, hut wanted to post that I'm doing ok so far so good!

Thanks Gunner and everyone reading:) I ate a few spoonfulls of broth and some ice chip water, gotten up a few times for bathroom. Not feeling the C02 yet in the shoulder , maybe when I become more mobile. I hope I go home today, they said there is a chance for that!